New Echelon Insights Survey Commissioned by Rockefeller Foundation: Most Americans Back Foreign Aid a Year After USAID's End

New Echelon Insights Survey Commissioned by Rockefeller Foundation: Most Americans Back Foreign Aid a Year After USAID's End

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, June 30, 2026

A majority (54%) across the political spectrum remains favorable toward foreign aid a year after USAID's dismantlement, and 8 in 10 say the path forward is to reform and strengthen foreign aid — not eliminate it.Seven in ten Americans — including half of those who primarily support Trump over the Republican Party — would support spending 2% of the federal budget (double previous levels), while overall favorability climbs from 54% to 70% once people learn what aid costs and accomplishes.NEW YORK, June 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Echelon Insights and The Rockefeller Foundation today released findings from a new public opinion survey evaluating Americans' opinions on global aid as the nation marks one year since the official closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and looks ahead to America's 250th birthday. Coming on the heels of the dismantling of traditional U.S. humanitarian and development structures and historic declines in Official Development Assistance (ODA) by the world's main donors, An American Perspective on Foreign Aid shows that Americans of all ages, education levels, and political and religious affiliations support a broad range of global development programs and believe these programs are in the best interest of the United States.